17. On The Ship

Riddick was lost in thought, thinking about the strange feeling Gin was fighting concerning her brother and sister and the woman he'd last seen them with. He still hadn't told Gin about the last time he'd seen them. They'd associated themselves with a woman named Rain, and that might have gotten them in trouble. She might be the one that had Ven frightened enough that Gin was picking up on her signals.

Gin was sitting on the floor, knees drawn up to her chest. Her head rested on her arm and the hand holding her shiv lay quivering on the ground. It was still stained with the merc's dark red blood.

Jack sat on a chair, looking worried and a bit defiant. Her eyes shifted slowly between Riddick and Gin, but she made no comments. She rubbed a hand over the short stubble on her head, the action making a rasping sound that echoed within the dark confines of the ship.

They hadn't turned on any lights, and the only illumination came from the light still on in the room down the hall. Riddick preferred the light as it was and Gin didn't seem inclined to make any comments one way or the other.

A rustling from Jack indicated her intention to leave her seat at the table, but Riddick stopped her movements with a dark glare. Shrugging, Jack settled herself into the seat again and crossed her arms across her chest, closing her eyes and tipping her head back against the chair.

Gin remained silent and unmoving. Her face was hidden against her arm and she was radiating anger and fear. Fear for her family, Riddick realized, still watching her.

He moved into the cockpit and flipped a few switches with practiced ease, setting the auto-pilot coordinates for Crip-Ornay.

Hours passed with no one making a sound. Gin continued to sit on the floor and Riddick prepared a small meal for them all. Bread, cheese and some sort of chewy meat. That along with a glass of water was all he would allow Jack to eat. He didn't offer any to Gin, knowing she would either refuse to eat or refuse to acknowledge him at all.

Seeing the look of extreme boredom on Jack's face, Riddick said the only thing he could think of. "Gin's got some books," Riddick said. The sound of his voice seemed to explode in the silence that had engulfed them all for so long.

Jack's head turned and she looked at him through half-lidded eyes. "What was that?" she questioned.

"Books," he repeated quietly, gazing at her from his spot close to Gin. "You do read, right?"

"No, Riddick. You've got to know I'm too stupid for that," she replied, her voice laced with sarcasm.

Riddick gritted his teeth, but ignored the remark. He supposed he deserved Jack's sarcasm but that didn't mean he liked it. "Glad to know I've been right," he replied, keeping his face and voice carefully neutral. The both of them were silent for a long moment, their eyes locked in silent battle. Sighing deeply, Riddick leaned his head back against his chair. "Gin's duffle is in the room at the end of the hall, on the floor by the drawers. The books are still in the bag if you're interested."

She watched him for a few more moments then stood up and headed down the hall toward the room with its light still on. Jack came back a few moments later holding a tattered novel in her hands. A faded picture decorated the front of the book, showing a landscape of endless sand dunes.

"Dune?" he questioned and Jack nodded, the sarcastic quirk that had been twisting her lips gone for the moment. "You'll like it."

Realizing the dim light made it impossible for Jack to read, Riddick pointed a finger at the small light fixture just above the chair Jack occupied.

Jack graced him with one small, genuine smile and flicked on the small light. The pale glow illuminated the top of Jack's head and the book in her hands.

Facing Gin, Riddick saw she still hadn't moved so much as an inch. She looked to be asleep, but she wasn't. He could hear the slow, steady thump of her heart beating quietly, but it wasn't the heart beat of someone sleeping. And although her breathing was deep and regular, it too proved she was conscious.

Another hour passed, the starlit space that surrounding the ship drifting past them as they headed for their destination. For Gin's home.

Suddenly, Gin looked up. It was lightening quick and she was on her feet, crouched as if waiting for an attack.

Riddick crept towards her, careful not to touch her though. She was glancing around wildly, her eyes focused on some distant place he couldn't see.

"Gin," Riddick murmured, his face near hers.

"Shh," she breathed, bringing the bloody fingers of her right hand to her lips to silence him.

Gin closed her eyes and cocked her head to one side, listening. Her brow furrowed into a pained frown, which quickly became a grimace. Sweat beaded her forehead and upper lip, and then she fell backwards against the wall. Her eyes closed, the blade caked in dry blood beside her.

Riddick leapt towards her, grabbing her sleek shoulders and giving her a shake.

"Gin! What's going on?" he demanded.

Her eyes fluttered open. "Ven..." she paused, gasping for breath. "She's - She's on," another few moments passed with Gin closing her eyes and trying to catch her breath. "Crip," she finished finally. Then, with a tired groan she collapsed.

Riddick didn't have a clue what had just happened, but he knew it must have something to do with Ven sending more distress signals to Gin. Riddick scooped Gin up and carried her to the washroom. He sat her on the floor and stripped her clothes off of her and then his own. She moaned slightly but didn't wake up, even when he turned on the water and stepped beneath the hot, steady stream.

When he'd washed the dirt, blood, and grime from both of their bodies, Riddick carried Gin into the bathroom and draped a towel around his waste, letting is hang low on his hips. He patted Gin dry before wrapping a towel around her breasts, then he picked her up and headed for the room they would be sharing.

Jack was leaning against the wall, her head resting against the smooth steel and her arms crossed over her chest. She opened her eyes when he stepped out of the bathroom with Gin and gave him a level stare. "Is she all right?" she questioned Riddick, and he heard the slight tremor in her words that she could quite hide.

Riddick shot her a sharp look and she narrowed her eyes, straightening and stepping away from him slowly. He didn't answer, but left Jack in the hall as he carried Gin into the bedroom. When he came out, fully dressed, Jack was sitting in her chair in the main living space, the book closed and resting in her lap.

"She's going to be fine," he said in answer to her last question as he folded his large frame into a chair. "She's just exhausted. Whatever happened back there drained her. Not to mention what she did back on Dres." He ran a tired hand over his head.

Jack nodded slowly, averting her eyes to a space just over his left shoulder.

Suddenly he was hunched down in front of her, his hand tipping her chin upwards so she was forced to gaze into his glowing, silver eyes. "I'm sorry I haven't been paying much attention to you, and for everything else, Jack."

The sound of her name seemed to bring back a piece of the happy-go-lucky girl he remembered from all those months before, but she didn't say anything, her green eyes wary and shuttered.

"You know how it is, right, kid?" he asked quietly. Riddick saw her flinch at the name and let his hand drop back down to his side.

He retreated to his seat and watched Jack curl in on herself, pulling her legs up onto the chair and huddling back against it. She was clutching the book so tightly her knuckles were white and the paper was creaking and twisting in protest.

"You gonna read that book or just beat the shit out of it?" he asked finally, pointing to the paperback in her clutches.

Jack seemed to snap out of some trance and jerked her eyes back to him, her fingers immediately loosening on the book. She seemed at a loss for a moment, a look that was completely at odds with the tough, sarcastic Jack she'd become since he'd last seen her. Visibly collecting herself, Jack's eyes narrowed slightly and she reached up and pointedly flicked on the light above her again.

Riddick hissed as the brightness hit his eyes and immediately jerked his goggles on. Jack ignored the noise and Riddick, not bothering to apologize. Riddick didn't get on her case about it. Maybe now the kid would think they were even.